Solomon Burke - I Almost Lost My Mind (1964)

While Solomon Burke never made a major impact upon the pop audience - he never, in fact, had a Top 20 hit - he was an important early soul pioneer. On his '60s singles for Atlantic, he brought a country influence into R&B, with emotional phrasing and intricately constructed, melodic ballads and midtempo songs.

At the same time, he was surrounded with sophisticated "uptown" arrangements and was provided with much of his material by his producers, particularly Bert Berns. The combination of gospel, pop, country, and production polish was basic to the recipe of early soul. While Burke wasn't the only one pursuing this path, not many others did so as successfully. And he, like Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett, was an important influence upon the Rolling Stones, who covered Burke's "Cry to Me" and "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love" on their early albums.

"I Almost Lost My Mind" was a budget reissue LP, released on the Clarion label.

Tracklist:

A1 I Almost Lost My Mind
A2 Down In The Valley
A3 Beautiful Brown Eyes
A4 You're Good For Me
A5 Home In Your Heart
B1 Can't Nobody Love You
B2 Keep The Magic Working
B3 Cry To Me
B4 Words
B5 How Many Times

Solomon Burke - I Almost Lost My Mind (1964)

(320 kbps, cover art included)